Disorders of the brain are a growing worry. Twelve mental-health conditions affect about 970m people around the world according to the Global Burden of Disease Project: more than one in ten of the population. Patchy data mean that this figure could well be an underestimate. On top of that, neurological problems, such as stroke, dementia, migraine, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and brain injury are collectively the leading global source of disability. Ageing populations with unhealthy ways of life are likely to make this problem much worse everywhere.

大腦紊亂越來越令人擔(dān)憂。根據(jù)全球疾病負(fù)擔(dān)項目的數(shù)據(jù)，12種精神健康疾病影響著全球約9.7億人：超過十分之一的人口。分布不均勻的數(shù)據(jù)意味著這個數(shù)字很可能被低估了。除此之外，中風(fēng)、癡呆、偏頭痛、帕金森癥、癲癇和腦損傷等神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)問題是全球殘疾的主要來源。人口老齡化和不健康的生活方式很可能使這一問題在各地更加嚴(yán)重。

In an ideal world science would be coming to the rescue. But the brain is a complex organ—sometimes described as the most complex structure in the known universe. Through good fortune and subsequent diligence, 20th-century science provided some pharmacological tools with which to treat some of the things that go wrong with it. But its fundamental mysteries have proved difficult to unravel. As a result, progress has been much slower than in treatments for the heart or cancer.?

在一個理想的世界里，科學(xué)會來拯救我們。但大腦是一個復(fù)雜的器官，有時大腦被描述為已知宇宙中最復(fù)雜的結(jié)構(gòu)。通過好的運氣和隨后的勤奮，20世紀(jì)的科學(xué)提供了一些藥理學(xué)工具，用來治療與之相關(guān)的一些問題。但事實證明，它的基本奧秘很難解開。因此，它的進(jìn)展比心臟或癌癥的治療要慢得多。

Indeed, it has sometimes been hard to discern much progress at all. The private sector spent an estimated $43bn on research into therapies for Alzheimer’s disease between 1998 and 2017 and came up empty-handed. That epic failure is perhaps the biggest reason why, in the 2010s, many drug firms abandoned or cut back on neuroscience research.

事實上，有時(甚至)很難看出有多少進(jìn)展。1998年至2017年期間，私營部門在阿爾茨海默病療法的研究上投入了約430億美元，但最終空手而歸。這種巨大的失敗可能是2010年代許多制藥公司放棄或減少神經(jīng)科學(xué)研究的最大原因。

Happily, there are signs of a change afoot. In our Technology Quarterly this week we report on a renaissance in neuroscience, with many drug companies, some of them big ones, showing renewed interest in the field. This fresh energy is coming from a variety of techniques and ideas. Optogenetics, which uses genetic manipulation to get animal brains to reveal their workings—and open them up to change—through the use of light, is transforming brain science in the laboratory, as is the growth of tiny brain-like “organoids”. More precise diagnosis and well-validated biomarkers, which reveal the course of disease, are improving clinical trials. A growing openness to the investigation of previously recreational and stigmatised drugs is widening the range of possible medicines. New kinds of treatment, such as gene therapy, are expanding the range of diseases that can be tackled. Other advances are spurring progress in dealing with chronic pain.?

令人高興的是，有跡象表明，改變正在發(fā)生。在本周的Technology Quarterly欄目中，我們報道了神經(jīng)科學(xué)的復(fù)興，許多制藥公司，其中一些是大型制藥公司，對這一領(lǐng)域表現(xiàn)出了新的興趣。這種新能量的注入來自于各種各樣的技術(shù)和想法。光遺傳學(xué)通過基因操縱使動物的大腦顯示出它們的活動方式，并通過光來激活它，從而改變動物的活動方式。光遺傳學(xué)正在改變實驗室中的腦科學(xué)，就像小的“類腦器官”的生長一樣。更精確的診斷和有效的生物標(biāo)志物能夠揭示疾病的進(jìn)程，改善臨床試驗。對以往娛樂性和污名化藥物的研究越來越開放，這擴(kuò)大了可能的藥物范圍。新的治療方法，如基因療法，正在擴(kuò)大可治療疾病的范圍。其他方面的進(jìn)步也在推動慢性疼痛治療的進(jìn)展。

At the same time a growing mound of “cohort” data is proving critical to understanding the biological roots of brain dysfunction. Projects like the uk Biobank track tens or even hundreds of thousands of individuals over a generation or more. They should help answer questions about the roots of brain disorders such as dementia that may take decades to emerge.?

與此同時，越來越多的“隊列”數(shù)據(jù)被證明對理解大腦功能障礙的生物學(xué)根源至關(guān)重要。像UK Biobank這樣的項目在一代人甚至更多代的人里跟蹤了數(shù)萬甚至數(shù)十萬個人。它們應(yīng)該有助于回答有關(guān)癡呆癥等腦部疾病根源的問題，癡呆可能需要幾十年才能出現(xiàn)。

As hopes rise for tackling this final frontier of biomedicine, it is worth remembering that the secrets to a healthy brain are not only going to come from a pill or psychotherapist’s couch. The health of the brain is influenced by what goes on outside it, such as nutrition, exercise, the abuse of alcohol, education, social connections and pollution. Of particular relevance these days is air pollution—which could have a negative influence on brain health at both the beginning and the end of life. None of this should be surprising: the health of the brain is tied to the health and the well-being of the body that it sits in. Efforts to ensure better brain health are an investment that will keep paying dividends for individuals, and for societies, for decades to come.

隨著攻克生物醫(yī)學(xué)這一最后前沿領(lǐng)域的希望增加，值得記住的是，保持大腦健康的秘密不僅來自于藥物或心理治療師的沙發(fā)。大腦的健康受到外界的影響，如營養(yǎng)、鍛煉、酗酒、教育、社會關(guān)系和污染。如今，空氣污染尤為重要，它可能會在生命開始和結(jié)束時對大腦健康產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響。這些都不足為奇：大腦的健康與它所處的身體的健康和幸福息息相關(guān)。努力確保大腦更健康是一項投資，這將在未來幾十年繼續(xù)為個人和社會帶來回報。